The Friendly Thai

Honestly disappointed. This used to be my fav place to get pad Thai, but the last two times I’ve eaten here it’s been gritty, thick and difficult to eat. I haven’t enjoyed it as much as I use to, and it’s such a shame! Will not be trying this place again.

I’m surprised by some of the other reviews. I take out from here maybe once a month and I consistently go back because I’m always pleased. Green curry chicken and crispy beef with coconut rice. Can’t go wrong.

If I could give minus stars I would. Disgusting pad Thai, I’m not sure how to even describe it except for pools of lime-​flavoured brown grease, wayyy too much tofu. Spring rolls were greasy and came without any sauce. I’ve tried it twice now — each time thinking «how bad can it be?» — and it should be closed down. Bonus points for the gal behind the bar wiping her runny nose on the back of her hand.

Qualifiers: I ordered from Just-​Eat and I don’t eat meat or seafood.
I was genuinely surprised by the reviews this place has been getting, because my experience has been pretty good so far. The portion sizes are quite large for the price and the food was good. Obviously not authentic, but still delicious enough to entice me to order again. I actually enjoyed the spring rolls and the crispy tofu appetizers. The green curry was also delicious.
I’m not an expert or even remotely knowledgable when it comes to thai food, so my taste buds aren’t accustomed to awesome authentic thai deliciousness. This food was good enough for me, as a person who has no real base of comparison. Some of these reviews have motivated me to try what else is out there.
The only thing I wish, really, was that the minimum delivery on Just-​Eat was a little bit less (currently it’s 35 dollars). This is a small qualm.

Wow, this place is definitely not as bad as everyone is making it out to be. I don’t eat meat or seafood, so maybe that’s the issue. This certainly isn’t my favourite thai place in the city but it’s open late, cheap, and close. It’s not authentic but it’s a Friendly Thai chain, so what were you expecting?
The veggie green thai curry is pretty good. I’m also a fan of the Malaysian vegetable tofu curry. I’d say this place is equally comparable in food standards to the Thai Green Chili that’s a few blocks west. It’s almost always empty and the business seems to sustain itself through take-​out, just like the other place.
If you want to quiet meal, this is a safe bet. I’m not a fan of the décor. It feels cold inside with lots of glass and stone. Same mistake made by Café 668. It’s not that pleasant to sit inside of, especially during the winter. Although at Café 668, it actually is just cold in there. There’s also a big tv and bar.
The one time we did eat in, the service was not great. We were ignored after being given menus for a long time, because the only front of house staff was taking orders over the phone and just generally kept her back to us. This was more than a year ago though and I’m sure she’s not there anymore. Much like a lot of these places, I’m sure the people in the kitchen are not Thai. In my experience they tend to be Sri Lankan but they don’t produce bad food.

Do you hate cilantro? If yes, you’ll understand my pain. If not, let me explain: when I eat cilantro it tastes like a tiny-​elf foot is rotting in my cheeks.
I ordered off of this location through
. All the user reviews were 5 stars, and the comments were gushing. They have a deal now where if you ordered enough food, you get 20% off, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
I will give them this much: it’s a lot of food. That’s about the only positive.
The pad thai wasn’t bad, for bad-​pad-​thai standards. The two appetizers, a crispy spring roll and then a fresh garden roll, were both awful. I had requested in the comment section «no cilantro» (usually not an issue since cilantro is usually added to dishes at the end), but the fresh garden rolls, which were just some iceberg lettuces in a roll, were crawling with it. I guess when you’re only other ingredient is lettuce, you have to add in something to give it flavour. Oodles of Noodles had oodles of salt, almost to the point of inedibility.
I won’t be ordering from here again, and I don’t understand the user reviews. Usually Just Eat users are pretty helpful.

This place served what was literally the worst thai food I have ever had in my entire life. I mean that. I am not exaggerating. We ordered three main course dishes and one soup, and without exception they were all awful. The flavouring was bland bordering on insipid, but what was worse was that the sea food smelt off. The fish smelt so bad that I ended up throwing my entire plate-​ful food into the rubbish (we ordered take-​out). I would not recommend this place at all. If you want good Thai food, go to Khao San Road– it’s worth the trip downtown.

After having passed by this new location of the Friendly Thai many times, we finally decided to try it one recent quiet afternoon. In fact, we were the only table in the long space for almost the entire duration of our meal. The TV was stuck on the weather and the lone server didn’t seem to mind the static that was coming from the monotonous radio.
Our meals started off with what the server wanted to remind us were «free» appetizers. While it’s always nice to get complimentary starters, most comparable Thai lunch specials include them (in Toronto anyway) and the repeated mentioning of that fact was rather tiring. Besides, the salad was far too onion heavy and was topped with bright orange bottled French dressing. The accompanying spring roll, although much less greasy than the nearby competition’s, was only okay. My pad thai was far too sweet and ketchupy. My lunch date’s chicken fried rice was too dry.
The service was not bad. You can tell that they have made an effort to make the space suitable for grabbing late dinners and drinks. There are high tops with bar stools and advertised drink specials.

Surprisingly good, given the hugely uninspiring name and appearance of this place. We had the shrimp red curry (containing exactly five shrimp) and coconut rice (rich, creamy and sweet), which together was not quite enough for two. I wouldn’t rush back here given the relatively high prices, but it was a good quick fix.
Service was a bit slow, even though we were one of two groups in the restaurant.

big fan of The Friendly Thai on Yonge so I thought I’d give this newest location a go — bonus that it’s right in my ‘hood. I know the chain for its low prices and big big piles of steaming noodles. not authentic by any means but for $ 8 I care not.
it was Friday night 8pm and the place was about half full but from the sounds of the telephone ringing off the hook, lots of people were getting takeaway. my friend and I seated ourselves and shared the menu that happened to be on the dirty table (all the free tables were dirty). 10 minutes later the harried waitress asked us if we want drinks. they were out of my first two beverage selections but we each eventually settled on a water and a juice.
another 15 minutes pass. our drinks arrive and the server finally clears the table of debris but we’re still sharing one menu. when she comes back a while later my friend orders the red curry pad thai with chicken, and I just get some spring rolls.
it’s half an hour later and we’re the only table left in the place. the server’s been on the phone taking orders the whole time. all the empty tables are dirty and littered with empty plates. our food finally arrives and the pad thai is amazing, although my friend has to wait a while to try it because the server’s too busy running around in the kitchen to bring us utensils. my spring rolls fall apart and I have to eat them like a salad. our drinks are long gone and so is our water and I have to go up to the counter to get more because dude it’s thai food, that shit’s spicy.
while on the phone still, the server tells me she’ll bring us our water «in a minute» and takes three more calls while we wait with burning mouths.
great cheap thai food but don’t eat in, people.